President Donald Trump on Tuesday reverted back to the stance that “there is blame on both sides” for the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. In doing so, he showed sympathy for the fringe groups’ efforts to preserve Confederate monuments and criticized “alt-left” groups that he claimed were “very, very violent” when they sought to confront the white nationalists and Nazi groups that had gathered.

Trump’s statement continues to politicize the battle over a complex disease that not only plagues this great nation, but nations across the globe. That disease is called hate.

Hate starts wars. It’s hate that fuels Isis to torment innocent victims in the Middle East and other regions. Hate pitches neighbor against neighbor.

Hate also knows no boundaries. Hate doesn’t just dwell in just Democrats or Republicans, left and right or conservatives and liberals.

We urge Trump to take the politics out of the debate over racism and violence. For this is a battle between right and wrong.

Standing up against hate takes courage. Just ask the 50 people who assembled at the entrance to Memorial Park in Marshall on Monday night to stand in solidarity with the victims of Charlottesville, Virginia. They all held lit candles, listened to a short remarks by the Rev. Anne Veldhuisen and sang.

Event organizer Darwin Dyce summed it up the best.

“Although we are extremely saddened and angry about what took place in Charlottesville Saturday, we are gathering not to curse the darkness, but to shine a light on humankind’s ability to say ‘no’ to hatred, violence and bigotry while lifting up our ability to reach out to one another with compassion and love,” he said.

Healing the wounds of racism will start locally in places like Marshall and Charlottesville, Virginia. Healing will also start with understanding hate is not a right vs. left issue.